Thomas Hull :: The mathematics of origami

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Math Imagery The connection between mathematics and art goes back thousands of years. Mathematics has been used in the design of Gothic cathedrals, Rose windows, oriental rugs, mosaics and tilings. Geometric forms were fundamental to the cubists and many abstract expressionists, and award-winning sculptors have used topology as the basis for their pieces. Dutch artist M.C. Escher represented infinity, Möbius bands, tessellations, deformations, reflections, Platonic solids, spirals, symmetry, and the hyperbolic plane in his works.

Mathematicians and artists continue to create stunning works in all media and to explore the visualization of mathematics--origami, computer-generated landscapes, tesselations, fractals, anamorphic art, and more.

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Home > Thomas Hull :: The mathematics of origami

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Professor Tom HullTom Hull took his Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Rhode Island in 1997. His dissertation was on list coloring bipartite graphs, now he mostly studies the mathematics of origami (paper folding).

Tom Hull is an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics at Merrimack College in North Andover, MA.

Spiked Rhombic EnneacontahedronThis structure was conceived by taking a 90-sided polyhedron, whose faces are made from two types of rhombi, and placing a pyramid on each face. The construction uses 180 small squares of paper, all folded and interlocked together without glue. See more models on the Origami Gallery.

--- Thomas Hull. Photograph by Nancy Rose Marshall.

Nested Hexogonal CollapseThis model is a series of concentric hexagons with "zig-zag" creases coming from the center-most hexagon out to the midpoints of the paper's sides. It can be collapsed in many different ways and twisted into interesting shapes, as done here. See more geometrics and tesselations on the Origami Gallery.

--- Thomas Hull. Photograph by Nancy Rose Marshall.

Five Intersecting TetrahedraThis is a version of the Ow-Hull "Five Intersecting Tetrahedra." The visually stunning object should be a familiar sight to those who frequent the landscapes of M.C. Escher or like to thumb through geometry textbooks. Read about the object and how it is constructed on the Origami Gallery.

--- Thomas Hull. Photograph by Nancy Rose Marshall.

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